Music Cover songs versus the original track, which ones are better?

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The discussion centers around the merits of cover songs compared to their originals, exploring which covers are considered better and which should have been avoided. The subjective nature of evaluating music is emphasized, with opinions varying widely based on personal taste. Notable examples include Jimi Hendrix's cover of "All Along the Watchtower," which many argue surpasses Bob Dylan's original, and Johnny Cash's rendition of "Hurt," which evokes deep emotion. Other covers, such as those by Eva Cassidy and the Bare Naked Ladies, are praised for their unique interpretations that enhance the originals. Conversely, some covers are criticized for lacking originality or failing to add anything new, with specific songs mentioned as examples of covers that should have been left alone. The conversation also touches on the broader implications of musical interpretation, the role of the listener in evaluating art, and the complexities of genre classification, particularly in jazz. Overall, the thread highlights the rich landscape of music covers, showcasing both celebrated interpretations and those deemed unnecessary.
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I googled her, she is a prominent blue grass musician, not something I am that well up on. I will discuss with an ex colleague who is nuts about US blues and country.
 
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George Michael - Careless Whisper - ft Kayla Reeves​


 
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(continuing with 1980s glam metal... #997 Motley Crue - #1005 Loudness )

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EZO (1987 album) with "House of 1,000 Pleasures" as the lead track

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezo_(band)
( E.Z.O. interview on Headbanger's Ball (1989) )

HOUSE OF 1,000 PLEASURES - EZO - Topic




(1992) LOUDNESS - house of 1000 pleasures(EZO) [This is a cover by Loudness, with EZO's singer (ref) ]


(2024) EZO - House of 1,000 Pleasures guitar cover (E・Z・O 1/9) - HebinoMetaru 's EZO covers


(2018) E-Z-O “House Of 1,000 Pleasures” (bass cover) by TBSSPILOTviews


(2018) EZO - HOUSE OF 1,000 PLEASURES (BASS COVER) by YAGI CHANNEL
 
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I must say though that Juna Serita roolz white people slap bass. But she no longer does covers.
 
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"Thrill" by Band-Maid (2014)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Band-Maid
https://bandmaid.tokyo/
(unofficial touring info: https://www.songkick.com/artists/8855314-bandmaid )
  • It's nice to see covers of songs from a relatively-new band that I've liked.
    When I first stumbled upon Band-Maid in 2018, "Thrill" had only about 3M views.
    ..and they hadn't toured in the US yet.
  • some earlier discussion of Band-Maid by @Hornbein in #11 of What is Sheena Ringo...
    (my comments are in #13 and #15)

(2014) BAND-MAID / Thrill (スリル) (Official Music Video)


(2021) BAND-MAID / Thrill (スリル) (Official Live Video)



(2023) Thrill(スリル)/BAND−MAID by ボタニカルオタキRisa and Michelle

( see also Michelle's guitar cover of Thrill )

(2021) Thrill / BAND-MAID Cover By MonoComb


(2022) BAND-MAID 'Thrill' Cover feat @Mieux090 and Rosie! ( by Wave Potter )



(2021) BAND-MAID - THRILL | Cover by Dicodec
 
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I've been a Bandmaid fan since 2013 when Maid In Japan came out. A couple of those old tunes are some of my faves. They've since suppressed this album as incompatible with their later hard rock style. Thrill was in 2015. I could tell they'd made a big jump up. They got popular in the West and even in Mexico.

In Japan musical popularity is mostly controlled by NHK, the national TV network. You can fill stadiums if and only If you get a TV show theme song on NHK. Bandmaid got theirs in 2019 and today has at least one more. I know that the Japanese government supports rock music -- they subsidize the Zepp chain of nightclubs throughout East Asia -- and that they wanted to promote J music abroad in order to get needed foreign exchange. (Japan imports all its fossil fuels so they have to export value-added goods and services.) I expect that NHK works closely with the government. So they decided to make stars out of Bandmaid. It was about time -- after nine years guitarist/composer Kanami was visibly getting bored with playing small clubs. Now that she has her enthusiasm back they're better than ever before.

The rhythm section was dynamite from the get go -- Jimmy Page is a big fan of the drummer -- but the singers and songwriters had some years of work to do before they could make it big. I'm amazed that Miku was able to hold the band together for such a long time before they had much success. I guess it was because everyone in the band could feel they had The Magic. You put a group together and either it has the magic or it doesn't, and it doesn't happen often.

The first time I saw Bandmaid I thought "dang that girl [Miku] is pretty. What's she doing playing an electric guitar? She doesn't need it." It turns out the band made her do it.

Bassist MISA used to be very sullen, almost hostile. Mass popularity has transformed her into a happy almost outgoing person. Same with singer Saiki.
 
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Cygnus -- Van Halen cover.
Why Can't This Be Love

 
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Bandmaid engages in two-tiered marketing. They have mass market CDs and also limited edition CDs of live performances that cost a lot more. I think the mixes on the mass market CDs are made to be as loud as possible and hence shrill and painfully ear-piercing. The limited edition CDs are live performances and far superior. I paid $75 for a limited edition CD and another $75 for a CD player and thought it was money very well spent.

They do this because while their audience is on the small side, a lot of it is old guys like me who will pay extra to hear rock performed so well. The way I see it, Bandmaid are modern geisha. Geisha were/are expected to excel in the performing arts, and some do. Styles may change but the game remains the same.

Enter the Secret Room. Is it geisha dreaming of being a rock band or a rock band dreaming of being geisha? Even those who have been to the secret room cannot say.

 
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Red -- Tears For Fears' Ordinary World

 
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The original by Diana Ross.



 
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Joyous Wolf covers Mountain's Mississippi Queen.

 
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Completely forgot about that remix on my playlist: Route 66.

Original by Nat King Cole:



Cover By Depeche Mode - Beatmasters Remix :

 
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  • #1,020
jack action said:
Completely forgot about that remix on my playlist: Route 66.

Original by Nat King Cole:



Cover By Depeche Mode - Beatmasters Remix :


Nat is one of my fave pianists. No one has a better touch on that instrument. That guitarist and bassist are swinging a ton too.

The John Mayer version rocks real good. Too bad his voice is so heavily processed. What can you do?

 
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jack action said:
Cover By Depeche Mode - Beatmasters Remix :
Ok, that was... weird. Kind of awesome at the same time, though.
 
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Larkin Poe does it again. Covering The Everly Brothers

 
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What's the trick to make videos available for viewing on PF?
 
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JT Smith said:
What's the trick to make videos available for viewing on PF?
if you click on once says it will not play then again and it takes you to YT
 
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JT Smith said:
What's the trick to make videos available for viewing on PF?
You can't. It's the video's owner who decides (usually for copyright reasons):
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/171780?hl=en-GB&sjid=15885605353325403930-NA#zippy=%2Cturn-off-embedding-for-your-videos said:
Turn off embedding for your videos

If you've uploaded a video and don't want to allow others to embed your video on external sites, follow these steps:

[...]
 
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jack action said:
You can't. It's the video's owner who decides (usually for copyright reasons):
It's not copyright. I guess they want you to see Youtube's video recommendations and comments, get more engaged.

(I could tell you more than you would care to know about Youtube's copyright policies.)
 
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I love Steve Brodersun's singing.



I'd never have the patience to fiddle with the knobs long enough to match the exact sound of the original. Good for them for doing all that work.
 
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Jon Anderson used to be such a good poet. Nowadays his lyrics are New Age lectures. This was the start of that.



Another Andrei Cerbu production. The guy's talented.

I always heard it as "owner of a '63 Dodge Dart."

Chris Squire's bass playing went from maximal there to minimal here. Why not.
 
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Hornbein said:
It's not copyright. I guess they want you to see Youtube's video recommendations and comments, get more engaged.

(I could tell you more than you would care to know about Youtube's copyright policies.)

My guess is it's about revenue. When I clicked through to youtube I was delivered an ad prior the video. If you embed a video here that doesn't generate revenue / doesn't have ads I'll bet it would play here. Am I right or wrong?

Let's see... I think this cover of Possum Kingdom fits that category:



Oh well, so much for that theory.
(and the singer is terrible)
 
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That does it. I'm packing my bags for Romania.
 
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Raunchy original by Bill Justis.
 
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(More 80s rock)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_Tell_Me_You_Love_Me
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Ranger


(1982) Night Ranger - Don't Tell Me You Love Me (SUPERSCALED TO 4K) 🇺🇸
solo @t=2m00s

see also (1983) Night Ranger - Japan Tour 1983 - Don't Tell Me You Love Me - solo @t=2m00s
and (2023) Night Ranger “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me” (Live on 40th Anniversary Tour in St Louis Mo 06-28-2023) - solo @t=2m00s



(2018) Sakura Yoshida - Don't Tell Me You Love Me / NIGHT RANGER
solo &t=2m00s


(2012) SATSUMA3042 - PLAY LOUD☆Don't tell me you love me
solo &t=2m00s
( SATSUMA3042 has many covers with focus on the fretboard, filmed in his restaurant )


(2017) Bad Habitz Don't Tell me You Love Me-cover
solo &t=2m00s


(2019) Irrashional - Don't Tell Me You Love Me (LIVE Cover) | Irrashional
solo @t=3m00s
 
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Usually, I think cover versions of my favorite songs are rubbish. But,...

ain't bad.

Here's the original:

It's very hard to surpass Mike Oldfield's masterful guitar work.
 
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Larkin Poe covers Tom Petty's American Girl

 
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【English Cover】Seraphim On The Ring/リングの熾天使 【Saki + Lunarveil】​




There really are guys who hand out leaflets offering sleazy employment. There are even big floats mounted on flatbed sound trucks doing the same, driving around areas where young people gather.

I saw some Japanese pro wrestling at a jocular heavy metal festival called Skull Mania. They did all of this stuff. It's all quite stylized. I attended to see Bandmaid. They were so embarrassed to appear there they didn't advertise the gig on their web site. There was a young J woman in a business suit and pumps with a big smile playing the organ part of Deep Purple's Highway Star. There is a van sold in Japan named the Highway Star.
 
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Frabjous said:

Now that's Grade A.
 
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Kim Gun Mo's massive hit Wrongful Meeting.



Cover by Ayumi. These sort of elaborate sets with dance are typical of east Asian TV. Song and dance are so important there that in recent Indonesian presidential election rallies candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono sang while incumbent Megawati danced. Bambang won.



It's impressive that Kim could hit such high notes. In a subsequent TV appearance he seems to have lost this ability but the song was so popular he just let the audience sing those parts. Last week Mick Jagger did the same with Out Of Time.
 
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Hornbein said:
Kim Gun Mo's massive hit Wrongful Meeting.
There are dangerous levels of melodrama radiating off that song. I see why it was a hit, though - I keep humming it because I don't understand the words.
 
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This ebass player is phenomenal.

(Queen Fox) Bass Remix|Raon×MINA​


 
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robphy said:


Cliffs of Dover Solo Intro Cover - Emmy Barone


Cliffs Of Dover - Eric Johnson - Cover by YOYO


Eric Johnson - Cliffs of Dover (FENDER 70TH ANNIVERSARY) - Izzyful

(see also Izzyful | Cliffs of Dover | Fender American Professional II Stratocaster | Guitarnet )

Cliffs Of Dover - Eric Johnson Guitar Cover By Juliana Wilson


CLIFFS OF DOVER - Eric Johnson | Guitar Cover by Sophie Burrell


Nili Brosh Plays Cliffs of Dover - Eric Johnson (Full Cover!)
 
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